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| The Truth, that God Made All Things from Nothing, Rescued from the Opponent's Flounderings.
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Chapter XV.—The Truth, that God Made All Things from
Nothing, Rescued from the Opponent’s Flounderings.
Now, if good was neither produced out of matter,
since it was not in it, evil as it was, nor out of God, since,
according to the position of Hermogenes, nothing could have been
produced out of god, it will be found that good was created out of
nothing, inasmuch as it was formed of none—neither of Matter nor
of God. And if good was formed out of nothing, why not evil too? Nay,
if anything was formed out of nothing, why not all things? Unless
indeed it be that the divine might was insufficient for the production
of all things, though it produced a something out of nothing. Or
else if good proceeded from evil matter, since it issued neither from
nothing nor from God, it will follow that it must have proceeded from
the conversion of Matter contrary to that unchangeable attribute which
has been claimed for it, as an eternal being.6272
| 6272 Contra denegatam
æterni conversationem. Literally, “Contrary to that
convertibility of an eternal nature which has been denied (by
Hermogenes) to be possible.” It will be obvious why we have, in
connection with the preceding clause preferred the equivalent rendering
of our text. For the denial of Hermogenes, which Tertullian refers to,
see above, chap. xii. p. 484. | Thus, in regard to the source whence good
derived its existence, Hermogenes will now have to deny the possibility
of such. But still it is necessary that (good) should proceed from some
one of those sources from which he has denied the very possibility of
its having been derived. Now if evil be denied to be of nothing for the
purpose of denying it to be the work of God, from whose will there
would be too much appearance of its being derived, and be alleged to
proceed from Matter, that it may be the property of that very thing of
whose substance it is assumed to be made, even here also, as I have
said, God will have to be regarded as the Author of evil; because,
whereas it had been His duty6273
| 6273 Debuisset
protulisse. | to produce all good
things out of Matter, or rather good things simply, by His identical
attribute of power and will, He did yet not only not produce all
good things, but even (some) evil things—of course, either
willing that the evil should exist if He was able to cause their
non-existence, or not being strong enough to effect that all things
should be good, if being desirous of that result, He failed in the
accomplishment thereof; since there can be no difference whether it
were by weakness or by will, that the Lord proved to be the Author of
evil. Else what was the reason that, after creating good things, as if
Himself good, He should have also produced evil things, as if He failed
in His goodness, since He did not confine Himself to the production of
things which were simply consistent with Himself? What necessity was
there, after the production of His proper work, for His troubling
Himself about Matter also by producing evil likewise, in order to
secure His being alone acknowledged as good from His good, and at the
same time6274
| 6274 This clumsy expedient
to save the character of both God and Matter was one of the weaknesses
of Hermogenes’ system. | to prevent Matter
being regarded as evil from (created) evil? Good would have flourished
much better if evil had not blown upon it. For Hermogenes himself
explodes the arguments of sundry persons who contend that evil things
were necessary to impart lustre to the good, which must be understood
from their contrasts. This, therefore, was not the ground for the
production of evil;
but if some other reason must be sought for the introduction thereof,
why could it not have been introduced even from nothing,6275
| 6275 Cur non et ex nihilo
potuerit induci? | since the very same reason would exculpate
the Lord from the reproach of being thought the author of evil, which
now excuses the existence of evil things, when He produces them
out of Matter? And if there is this excuse, then the question is
completely6276
shut up in a
corner, where they are unwilling to find it, who, without examining
into the reason itself of evil, or distinguishing how they should
either attribute it to God or separate it from God, do in fact expose
God to many most unworthy calumnies.6277
| 6277 Destructionibus.
“Ruin of character” is the true idea of this strong
term. | E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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